


The (Christmas) Morning After the Night Before

by DramioneDreaming



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Smut, Christmas at Hogwarts, F/M, Fear of Flying, Fluff and Smut, Gay Theodore Nott, Hogwarts, Hogwarts Eighth Year, One Shot, POV Draco Malfoy, POV Hermione Granger, Pining Draco Malfoy, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, Porn With Plot, Slytherin, Slytherins Being Slytherins, Smut, Theo is a Little Shit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:28:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28249143
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DramioneDreaming/pseuds/DramioneDreaming
Summary: When Ron Weasley breaks up with Hermione Granger on Christmas eve, too much Christmas Spirit in the Slytherin Dungeons and a match-making Theo Nott lead to a very happy Christmas for Draco Malfoy.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy
Comments: 16
Kudos: 367





	The (Christmas) Morning After the Night Before

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: All characters are owned by JK Rowling, I'm not making any profit from this bit of festive fun.

Draco only made it 3 steps into the Slytherin common room before freezing and doing a quick double take. He was definitely in the right place, same view of the green tinged lake through the windows, same collection of dark leather and wood furniture, definitely Slytherin flags draped across the right wall there. Theo Nott was slouched artfully across one long Chesterfield, glass of firewhiskey in hand which had become an increasingly more common sight since their return to the castle for their eighth year. Yes, all of that was perfectly normal. The bushy haired Gryffindor hanging upside down from the seat of his favourite armchair however was new.

"Ermmm.... Nott? Care to explain why the hell there is currently a drunk Gryffindor in what I'm fairly confident is the Slytherin common room?" he queried, raising one pale brow as said Gryffindor gave a watery laugh and tumbled from her previous spot to land with a thud on the solid stone floor. Draco winced internally as Granger dragged herself up and proceeded to half-sit half-fall onto the top of the polished mahogany table across from Theo.

"Oh loooook!! It's Draco!" Nott giggled. Definitely pissed then, Draco reasoned with a sigh. "Come sit Draco! Come sit! Hermione and I have decided that we are going to be getting well and truly sloshed this evening in honour of the recent demise of her short-lived relationship with our favourite Weasel King."

Draco hefted his broom higher over his shoulder and rolled his eyes in the pair's general direction as he resumed his path towards his dorm.

"As enticing as that offer is Nott, I think I'll pass. Try not to be too obnoxiously drunk when you stumble into our dorm room later" he offered. "Granger, congratulations on coming to your senses. Don't fall over and break anything, the furniture here is much more expensive to replace than what I hear they have up in your lion's den."

He had made it almost two thirds of the way to his destination when he was ambushed by the now apparently single brunette.

"Hey Malfoy, is that your broom?" she asked, attempting to wrest it from his grasp. "It's so shiny! You know, I was always terrible at flying but I think I'd like to have another go. Can I use your broom?"

"I'm sure Draco would be happy to give you a ride on his broomstick any day, Granger" Theo snorted before throwing back the remains of his glass and lifting a decanter of amber liquid from the floor by his feet.

"No, Granger, you may not borrow my broomstick." Draco stated, prising her eager fingers from around it's handle and deciding that he would deal with Nott later.

"Oh you're no fun." She sulked, flopping backwards over the couch behind her and motioning to Theo for a refill.

"You know, she's really right, Draco. You've been a right boring git lately. It's almost Christmas, come get into the festive spirit with us."

Theo conjured another glass and waved it in Draco's direction as Granger commended him on his pun. Deciding that he might need a glass or two of the good stuff just to get through an evening of Theo's antics, Draco ignored his better judgement in favour of claiming his favourite armchair by the fire before Granger decided to stake a claim to it again.

Smiling in triumph, Theo thrust the now filled glass into Draco's left hand, spilling a few drops of firewhisky onto his practice robes in the process.

"Can I ask how being upside down is helping you to get over this apparent heartbreak, Granger?" Draco asked as he eyed the Gryffindor suspiciously.

"I'm trying to get more blood flow to my brain so that I can think of a good enough insult to send that uncaring berk in a howler," she stated nonchalantly as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I see," Draco confirmed, still none the wiser. "Theo? Care to clarify?"

"Well, the short version is that I found Granger here smashing up the trophy room, with astounding creativity if I might add," he nodded at Granger, who grinned maniacally back at him "because apparently Weasley decided that Christmas Eve was a good time to break up with his Girlfriend... by owl post if you can believe it," he added, taking another sip of his whiskey.

"He does know that he's dating Hermione Granger, right? The witch who not only broke my nose in third year, but also sent Umbridge off to the centaurs?" Draco mused.

"The pink menace deserved it!" Granger called, still firmly upside down.

"No arguments here," Theo toasted. "And that's what I said, Draco, clearly the boy has a death wish. This little lion has claws, I'm excited to see what happens. Hence the alcohol and the invite."

"You know, I did once keep Rita Skeeter in a jar for a year," Hermione muttered. "Maybe there is some way I could force him to drink something that would turn him into a beetle..."

"You did what to Rita Skeeter?" Draco laughed despite himself, but Hermione just smiled in response.

"Oh Draco, I think I love her. Can we keep her, please? She most definitely should have been a Slytherin"

"Theo you are gay," Draco reminded, dragging a hand over his face in exasperation.

"I know, but I think I could be turned. Your beautiful arse has nothing on this devious little minx" Theo protested.

"He does have a nice arse doesn't he" Granger stage whispered to Theo as she righted herself.

"Much as it thrills me to know that you secretly admire my backside, Granger, I don't think keeping the Weasel in a jar is really an option. Someone is bound to notice he is missing what with all of those other redheads crawling about all over the place."

Hermione sighed sadly, and they all drained their glasses. Theo levitated the bottle of Ogden's around the group in a surprisingly stead bit of wandless magic, before jumping to his feet and clapping his hands in glee.

"I've got it Granger! You should shag Malfoy! That would send the ginger wanker into a fit! It's perfect!"

"Piss off Nott," Draco shot at the dark haired boy at the same time that Hermione spoke.

"You know, that's not a bad idea actually Theo."

Draco turned wide eyes to the clearly inebriated girl, who was currently eyeing him like he was a prize cut of dragon steak.

"I know, I know, I am a genius," Theo sighed happily, pulling Granger from her seat and spinning her in unsteady circles about the room. "You are both welcome." He smiled as he deposited a dizzy looking Granger straight into Draco's lap, spilling more of the amber liquid over them both.

Granger smiled up at Draco from her spot on his lap, apparently oblivious to the state of her bushy hair and tear-stained cheeks, as she attempted to batt her eyelids seductively at him.

"Not to criticise your undoubtedly well thought out plan here, but there are quite a few glaring holes in this idea of yours Nott," he commented, steadying the brunette on his knees as she almost slid sideways to the floor. "The first and most obvious being that me and Granger can't stand each other," Theo gave a dismissive wave of his hand and Hermione's brows pulled together into a frown. "Not to mention the ethical issue of consent given that the girl is clearly under the influence of what I am willing to guess is at least twice her normal tolerance of alcohol and has a possible concussion from the amount of falls she has taken just whilst I've been here for this little party of yours."

"I do not have a concussion." Hermione huffed, apparently deciding against arguing his other two points.

"Oh I'm sure we have a sober-up potion around here somewhere," Theo assured. "And we have already established that Granger is more than a little fond of your arse, so I think that negates the whole mutual hatred thing, especially since you haven't screamed and tossed her off of you yet. And she's been sat there for frankly longer than I had expected before you cracked."

"I don't hate you." Granger confirmed with an earnest nod. "I actually think you are quite hot in that dark, brooding sort of way. Even if you are arrogant and annoying. And also, you smell nice." She added as she burrowed her face into Draco's chest, rubbing her cheek against the worn fabric of his quidditch robes.

Stunned, Draco just gaped at her before meeting Nott's twinkling eyes in time to see him mouth the words 'you're welcome'.

********

Hermione woke to a splitting headache and the taste of dried Kneazle droppings in her mouth. Groaning to herself, she attempted to raise her head but gave up when the room spun and her stomach gave a dangerous lurch. Vague flashes of drinking far too much firewhiskey with Theodore Nott of all people came back to her, and she released another groan as she pulled the sheets higher over her head. She couldn't even remember making her way back to Gryffindor tower and had vague recollections of asking an unamused Malfoy to carry her. What had she been thinking? The answer, obviously, was that she hadn't. It was all Ron's fault. Apparently, the prat still had the emotional range of a teaspoon, and she was firmly placing the blame for her night of indulgence in the snake pit in Ron's hands.

Making to drag herself from her bed and to the bathroom down the hall, Hermione froze when the mattress dipped next to her and a long-fingered hand grazed her apparently bare thigh. Merlin's pants, who the hell was in bed with her?! Calming her breaths, she took comfort in the knowledge that boys could not access the girls tower rooms. Perhaps Ginny had caught sight of the state she was in when she came back last night and took pity on her. She had certainly done the same for Ginny in the past when she had a few too many celebrating a quidditch win.

Cracking her eyes open, Hermione pulled the duvet covers down to her chin. Well, Damn. Unless she was suddenly colour blind, the drapes that were mercifully blocking out the rays of morning sunlight were green, not red.

Hoping against all hope that she had somehow ended up sharing a bed with Theodore Nott, something which she had decidedly never hoped before now, she rolled slowly in the direction that the movement had come from. No such luck. The platinum strands resting upon the pillow next to her could only belong to one Slytherin, and it certainly wasn't Nott.

Sucking in a breath, Hermione blinked several times in the futile hope that the dozing blonde next to her was some kind of hangover-induced hallucination. When the very real body of Draco Malfoy stayed firmly where it was, Hermione gave up on the admittedly foolish hope and decided to do the most sensible thing she could in this unprecedented situation; to run away as far and as fast as she could. Slithering out from under the sheets, Hermione edged towards the side of the bed and began a quiet battle with the drapes, which were apparently determined to keep her captive within the confines of Malfoy's bed.

Emerging, victorious and slightly nauseous from within the curtained depths, Hermione flinched as her bare feet met the icy cold stone floor of the dungeon dormitory. Casting her eyes around the unsurprisingly green and silver decorated room, Hermione attempted to locate her clothes. Trying very hard not to think about the fact that she was currently clad in only Malfoys green quidditch jersey, she tiptoed around the room, praying that she could at least locate her wand. If she could just transfigure herself something that covered slightly more flesh, then she could make a dash for her own bed and attempt to drown herself in a dreamless sleep potion.

Bending over what she assumed was Malfoy's bedside table, Hermione froze when the curtains of the bed were drawn back, and a pair of amused silver eyes looked out at her from beneath a mop of perfectly sleep mussed hair.

"Well, that's a nice view to wake up to on Christmas morning," he smirked.

Blushing furiously, Hermione attempted to pull the hem of his quidditch top lower over her thighs.

"Malfoy," she nodded with forced casualness. "I am far too hungover to deal with this right now, so if you could please tell me where I can locate my wand, then I can be out of your hair and we can both forget about whatever may or may not have happened last night."

"Wait... Granger, are you telling me that you don't remember the wonderful night you spent between my sheets?" the Slytherin asked in mock upset.

"Yes, and I would very much like to keep it that way. Now if you could spare the melodrama for two minutes and stop being such and arse, I might not have to hex you."

"Oh you had much more complimentary things to say about my arse last night, Granger." He chuckled darkly as he sat, allowing the sheets to drop and expose the broad, toned expanse of his pale chest. Hermione's blush deepened as she began to wonder if he had anything on at all beneath those silky emerald sheets. "Are you really telling me that you don't remember your little strip tease?"

"I did not!.. I would never.. How dare you insinuate that..." she spluttered.

"Oh yes you did, Granger!" piped up a sleepy voice from across the room that she assumed belonged Theo. "Magnificent tits by the way. If I'd known Gryffindors were so much fun, we would have been friends years ago."

"Keep out of it, Nott!" She shouted in his general direction, cursing herself for ever taking him up on his offer of a bloody drink.

"Hey, don't take it out on him because you're a randy little thing and can't get enough of me when you've had a few." Malfoy drawled, bringing her attention back to the smirking blonde. "Salazar knows you were the one that dragged me in here with your tie around my neck." He was laughing now, actually laughing. And not the cold derisive laugh that she was used to from him, but something genuinely amused that sparked a warmth in her gut that she really didn't want to think about right now.

Closing her eyes in dismay, Hermione decided to just get out of there and hope that Theo had enough decency to return her wand to her at some point. Dignity be damned, she would rather dash through the castle half-dressed than listen to any more of what her drunken alter ego had got up to the night before. She turned to open the door and was halfway through it when a strong hand reached out and pulled her back by her wrist, the well-honed reflexes of a Seeker giving Malfoy the advantage.

As she turned back to face the blonde, she was relieved to see, now that he was standing, that he was at least wearing what appeared to be pyjama bottoms. Thank Morgana for small mercies.

"Relax, Granger, nothing happened" he laughed.

"But you said..."

"Oh, I wasn't lying about the strip show. You really are something when you are drunk. But your underwear remained firmly in place."

"Then why the hell did I wake up in your bed?! And with your quidditch jersey on?!" she asked, bringing her hands up to grasp her throbbing head.

"A combination of factors really. The first being your piss poor attempt at seduction. There was also that part where you started shouting that if I didn't get into bed and ravish you, you were going to go and track down McLaggen and let him do the job. Luckily, you passed out not long after that, but we thought it was better to keep an eye on you than let you go off grinding on random blokes just to get back at the Weasel."

"You mean to tell me that you slept with me in your bed to be gentlemanly?" she questioned, raising an eyebrow disbelievingly and giving him a shadow of his own smirk.

"Hardly," Theo snorted into his pillow. "He was very much enjoying having you throwing yourself at him, I can assure you. I seem to remember the line 'Ask me again when you're sober' being thrown around a fair amount."

Draco grabbed his wand from beneath his pillow and shot a silencing spell at Theo's drapes.

"Well, Nott is clearly still drunk." Draco commented, glossing over Theo's little revelation. "Sit down Granger and I'll grab us a couple of hangover cures. As fun as it's been riling you up this morning, I'm beginning to remember why I never join Theo in his little parties for one."

Hermione resignedly plonked herself down on the edge of Malfoy's bed, trying not to think too hard about the slowly returning memories of her evening of debauchery as Malfoy crossed the room to rummage in Theo's dresser. Pulling two phials from a draw, Malfoy stood and casually threw one of the glass containers her way. With a small screech, Hermione raised her hands to defend herself from the projectile and cringed as it bounced from her forearm to smash upon the floor.

"Well," Malfoy drawled, amusement tinting his voice as he released the cork from his own phial and poured the pearly liquid down his throat "Usually when someone throws something at you, standard procedure is to catch the object, not duck for cover like I'd shot an Avada your way. Luckily for you, Nott's draws are always well stocked with hangover cures." He reached back into the draw and held up another glass phial, dangling it out in front of him as he stalked back across the room towards her.

"Oh just pass me the Godrick damned potion already Malfoy and stop being such a prat." She hissed.

"Language, Granger" Malfoy teased as he handed over the potion.

Trying to ignore the way her stomach seemed to flutter when their hands met, Hermione popped open the phial and swallowed it down in one. Taking a moment to appreciate the incredible advantages of being a witch, she gave a small sigh of pleasure as her headache eased and the riotous churning in her stomach stopped.

"Better?" Malfoy asked, and she released another happy sigh in confirmation as she flopped back to land on his amazingly comfortable bed.

The bed dipped next to her and she opened her eyes, turning her head to meet the pale grey of Malfoy's gaze. He had mimicked her relaxed recline and was staring straight back into her eyes, like he was searching for something in their depths. She could taste the freshness of the hangover potion on his breath as he lay still just inches away from her. Hardly daring to blink incase it broke the surreal moment between them, Hermione was shocked to realise that she felt no compulsion to pull away.

Malfoy's lips parted slightly and her eyes darted to them without any conscious thought, halting whatever he was about to say. Another beat of heated silence passed between them before both of their gazes were pulled towards Theo's bed as the messy haired boy stumbled out from between his bed curtains and gave a dramatic stretch.

"Well, well doesn't this look cosy!" he teased with a playful smile, his green eyes darting between the frozen Draco and Hermione. "Don't let me interrupt this rather adorable little moment," he said as he reached into his still open draw and pulled another phial of hangover potion from his seemingly endless supply. "I think I will go and see if I can sweet talk those adorable little house elves into knocking me up something for breakfast. Maybe I'll take a walk, go have a chat with the giant squid. I shouldn't be back for a while."

Draco growled and reached behind him to launch a pillow in Theo's direction, but the jovial Slytherin merely danced out of its way as he necked his own potion. Dodging several more feather stuffed rounds of ammunition, Theo made his way to the door, throwing it open before casting a wink back in Hermione's direction.

"Oh and Hermione, just incase you've forgotten... Draco here promised to give you a kiss in the morning, if you still wanted one when you'd sobered up."

The door slammed on that bombshell as Malfoy's final projectile fell short of its mark and he groaned, dragging a hand over his face to cover his eyes.

"Now that Nott's made the atmosphere in here well and truly awkward, feel free to go save the house elves from his pestering, Granger. Your wand and things are just on top of my trunk."

Hermione made no move to leave, once again staring at the blonde beside her, her brows furrowing in confusion.

"Did you really say that you would kiss me when I was sober?" she asked in a soft, confused tone.

"I think, having had time to consider my options, that I just might take you up on that offer to agree to forget anything that may or may not have happened last night, Granger" Malfoy groaned, hand still firmly clamped over his eyes, and a steadily darkening shade of pink covering his pale cheeks. 

"But you hate me" Hermione deadpanned.

"All evidence to the contrary it would seem."

Hermione mulled the revelation over as she took the opportunity to rake her gaze over Malfoy without him seeing. Whilst it was true that he had starred in a few of her more sordid night time fantasies since 5th year, she had never really considered the impossibility of kissing the Slytherin Prince in real life, save for after Nott's drunken suggestion the night before. She was normally too busy either bickering with or pointedly ignoring Malfoy to consider getting close enough to do anything other than give him another punch in that too-perfect nose. She was shocked to find that not only did the notion not disgust her, but that a small thrill actually went through her at the thought of running her hands through those silky platinum locks and pulling his face to hers.

"You're staring, Granger" he noted, still refusing to meet her eye.

"What if I asked you to kiss me now?" she asked.

"I would say that either Nott's hangover potions are less effective than usual, or that you must really hate Weasley to consider that when sober."

"What if it had nothing to do with Ron?" she pressed.

"Without the redheaded wonder you wouldn't have been getting pissed with Theo in my common room last night and we wouldn't even be having this conversation, so that's rather a moot point"

"Well now you are just being difficult" she huffed.

"You sound surprised," Malfoy murmured, lifting his hand from his eyes to glance her way. "Isn't this how conversations between the two of us usually go? You say something idiotic; I offer up a witty repartee and you become steadily more irate. Repeat ad infinitum."

"Maybe I have decided that I don't want to bicker with you like we are still first years."

"Oh? Then what else did you have in mind?" he challenged, raising one elegant brow.

"You could kiss me" she huffed.

"Are you really asking me to kiss you, Granger, or is this some weird kind of test that you are setting me up to fail?"

"I'm asking you to kiss me, you idiot, so just..."

Her words died in her mouth as Malfoy snaked a hand round the back of her neck and pulled her lips to his in a bruising kiss, surprising her with the surety of his movements. She had been sure that he would refuse her and her dirty blood, but apparently Theo had a better idea of the situation than she did. Willing her overactive brain to shut up for once, Hermione wound her hands into his platinum hair and pulled his lips closer to hers, releasing a sigh as he took the hint and deepened the kiss. Malfoy took the parting of her lips as permission, and his tongue invaded her mouth to tangle with her own.

Malfoy's free hand slipped up over her hip to grasp her waist and he deftly rolled them to pin her beneath himself without breaking the kiss. Lost in the moment, Hermione pulled one hand from his hair and trailed it lightly over his shoulder blade and down the column of his back, nails digging into his flesh when he playfully bit into her bottom lip.

"I know that you're proud of your Gryffindor lion associations Granger, but that's no need to maul me" he teased down at her, releasing her lip from his grasp.

"Oh shut up and kiss me again, Malfoy" she growled.

"Yes ma'am" he quipped before obeying and lowering his lips to capture hers once more.

Just when she thought she would pass out from lack of oxygen, Malfoy's lips left hers to trail kisses across her jawbone and down the column of her neck. Hermione released a moan and, without conscious thought, rolled her hips up to meet his.

Immediately Malfoy froze above her, his mouth still hovering over her neck. Seconds passed in which neither of them dared to breath before he slowly pushed himself up and off of an increasingly mortified Hermione. Staring up at the canopy of his bed, Hermione sucked in a deep breath, refusing to meet Malfoy's eyes as he stood and took a hasty step away.

"Granger, I.... this was.... I think I'm going to go and.... just," Malfoy gave a loud sigh and she heard him make his way around the bed, gathering up items from his dresser and trunk. "You should probably go find one of your Gryffindor friends, I'm sure they are all waiting to shower you with presents." He dropped something onto the bed by her feet, scooped up a couple more things from around the room and paced over to the exit. "Happy Christmas, Granger" he murmured as he swung open the heavy oak door and left the room, leaving Hermione totally alone with furious tears gathering in her eyes.

********

Hermione determinedly exited the 8th year boy’s dormitory minutes later, once again fully clothed and in possession of her wand. Head held high, she made her way across the dingy dungeon common area and out into the hall beyond. She had been mentally preparing herself to face sneers and whispers from the other occupants of Slytherin house, but it appeared that either they had all vacated the castle for Christmas or were enjoying a sleep in. The majority of her own housemates had also decided to spend the festive break with their loved ones, but as Hermione's only family still had no idea that she even existed and she couldn't face the idea of being surrounded by the Weasley clan on their first Christmas without Fred, she had opted to stay at the castle and absorb herself in her studies like it was just any other time of year. It hadn't really occurred to her last night in her drunken haze to wonder at Theo or Malfoy's reasons for staying at Hogwarts. She realised now that Theo's father had died in the final battle, so he likely had no one to go home to either.

Remembering his seemingly casual exit this morning, Hermione now wondered how the surprisingly friendly Slytherin was planning on spending his Christmas day. A visit to the kitchens and a chat with the giant squid didn't sound like such a bad plan, after all. If she hid out in the kitchens, she wouldn't have to see Malfoy's face across the table for the annual Christmas Dinner for the lonely and unloved in the Great Hall that McGonagall was heading up. Making an abrupt U-turn in the corridor, Hermione made her way back towards the familiar painting of fruit that marked the entrance to the kitchens. She could shout at Theo for encouraging her to make such an arse of herself with Malfoy and drown her sorrows in hot chocolate and croissants.

Tickling the pear at the right of the canvas, Hermione stepped back as the painting swung open on invisible hinges to allow her entrance. A flood of pleasant smells and the sound of the high, squeaky voices of the Hogwarts elves met her as Hermione stepped into the cavernous kitchens, swinging her gaze around in search for the messy haired, meddlesome form of Theodore Nott. Theo had turned from his spot at her entrance, rising from his seat at one of the long wooden tables that sat directly below the house benches in the great hall above and throwing her a blinding smile.

"Well, if it isn't my new favourite drinking buddy! I didn't expect to see you up and dressed so soon Granger, clearly Malfoy's stamina isn't what we've all been led to believe."

Hermione ignored the decidedly dirty looks being shot at her from the few house elves that deigned to look in her direction and made her way over to flop down on the bench beside Theo.

"Don't talk to me about Malfoy right now Theo. I don't even want to think about what just happened, and I might hex you if we continue this discussion. Just get one of the elves to bring me a coffee and something carb heavy."

"Oooookay then," Theo acquiesced, brows raised at Hermione. Flagging down a nearby house elf, Theo requested two more cups of coffee and a plate of pastries and allowed Hermione her disgruntled silence until she had taken her first sip of the steaming beverage.

"So, last I saw, you and Draco were staring longingly into each other's eyes and the sexual tension in the room could be cut with a butter knife. What the hell went so tits up in the last hour that you are now threatening bodily harm at the mention of his name?"

Hermione groaned and lowered her head to the table in front of her in answer.

"Merlin, it must be bad if the great Hermione Gr¬¬¬¬anger has been reduced to grunts and groans. You're normally much more verbose from what I've seen," Theo stifled a laugh as he prodded her none too gently in the ribs.

"Seriously Theo, could we not?" Hermione grumbled, nibbling the corner of a pain au chocolat and casting the Slytherin boy a glare that usually got Harry and Ron to stay in line.

"Fine, fine, no Malfoy talk," Theo waved a hand airily, picking up his own baked good and munching on it quietly. "Spoken to the weasel yet?"

At this change in subject, Hermione felt her heart drop even more. She had been so busy internally cringing in mortification over waking up in bed with Draco Malfoy that she had almost managed to forget Ron's ill thought out break up letter.

"Godrick no. I don't even know what I would say in response to that owl. It's not a huge shock that our relationship didn't last in all honesty, but I really thought that he would have more respect for 7 years of friendship than to be that uncaring in ending it."

"Yes, well, Ronald has never really been known for his tact now has he?" Nott replied. "Better a clean break than dancing around each other for the next few years before one of you finally cracks. If anything, the idiot has done you a favour. Now you are free to enjoy the final year of your Hogwarts education giving strip teases to random Slytherin blokes, and waking up full of alcohol and regrets."

Hermione actually laughed at the absurdity of his statement and picked up another biscuit. Theo's light-hearted dismissal of Ron's betrayal surprisingly helped to put it in perspective, and Hermione determined to ignore Ron for today and try to enjoy the Christmas break whilst she could.

********

After hastily transfiguring herself a scarf and gloves, Hermione had opted to join Theo on his stroll around the grounds. She really didn’t have much else to do, and it would be slightly pathetic to spend Christmas day revising from textbooks she already knew back to front and inside out. 

“Salazar’s bollocks, it’s freezing out here!” Theo complained before casting a warming charm over the two of them and wrapping an arm around Hermione’s shoulders to draw her closer to him. 

“I know your underground common room doesn’t offer much of a view of the grounds, Theo, but surely even you noticed it had been snowing? Were you expecting tropical weather for your chat with the giant squid in Scotland in December?” Hermione laughed. She wasn’t used to such immediate displays of friendship, but something about Theo put her at ease, and she snuggled closer against his shoulder as they meandered over the snow-covered grounds. 

“Well the 5 inches of ice coating the black lake have certainly but an end to my grand plans to go have a chat with the giant squid,” he chuckled back. “It’s a shame really, he’s normally such a good conversationalist.”

“Did you have a direction in mind? I’d rather not stray too close to Hagrid’s. He’s bound to invite us in for a cup of tea and I’m really not in the mood to be asked about Ronald right now.”

“Ah yes, the ginger wonder. I said it last night, but as I assume you’ve forgotten most of our bonding I’ll say it again… the guy’s an idiot, Granger. Honestly, I never knew what you saw in him in the first place. It certainly wasn’t his looks or his Galleons, and once you get past the whole ‘co-defeater of the Dark Lord’ thing I’m not sure what redeeming attributes the idiot has. Certainly not his quidditch skills.”

“It’s hard to explain I guess, we were best friends for years. It was all just so familiar, and I love his family. I could see us being like Molly and Arthur… although now that I think of it, I really don’t understand why myself,” she mused. 

“Yes, I can hardly see you as the type to stay home raising hordes of red-headed children whilst Ron goes out to work. How you ever made yourself believe that was what you wanted is beyond me and I barely even know you. You were lucky I came into your life when I did, Granger. Clearly you needed someone to help you see sense,” Theo nudged her in the ribs and smiled to soften the blow of his words. “I can totally see why you have a thing for Draco on the other hand, now that’s a much better fit.”

“Malfoy?” Hermione gaped. “I do not have a ‘thing’ for Malfoy, Theo! That was all down to the firewhiskey and bad judgement.”

“Oh, really? So you don’t like your men handsome, intelligent, witty and athletic? No? You’re right of course, safe and familiar is so much more appealing than someone who could actually challenge you and keep up with your intellect.” Theo tapped his chin in false contemplation and Hermione rolled her eyes. 

“Oh yes, Theo. There is just so much appeal in someone who tormented me for years because of something as ridiculous as my blood status. Calling me mudblood and scowling in my direction really does it for me.”

“I don’t know, I think that the smirk is kind of hot. And you might not have noticed but I’m fairly sure he hasn’t called you a mudblood since the Dark Lord made his reappearance. Rather a different thing to parrot what your father tells you than to willingly buy into the dreams of the sycophant living in your own home. I’m not claiming he’s a saint, Granger, but the boy’s been in love with you for years. Just try to think about him in a more objective light for once, that’s all I’m saying.”

Hermione gaped at Theo, not quite knowing what to say back to that. Theo had resumed his walking and after letting him get a few paces away, Hermione hurried to catch up. She didn’t brush him off this time but looked down at where their feet were leaving shoeprints in the untouched snow, deep in thought. It was true that Malfoy hadn’t used that slur in sometime. Any confrontation between the two of them over the last few years had been more due to her position as Harry Potter’s best friend than any malice directed at herself. She kept coming back to the memory of him at Malfoy manor that past Easter. He had definitely recognised the three of them, how could he not after so many years together at Hogwarts, but he hadn’t sold them out. His own family had gone to him for confirmation and he hadn’t said yes. It could have been his chance to redeem himself in the eyes of the Dark Lord, to buy back some of his family’s lost prestige. True he hadn’t lied for them, he hadn’t tried to get them out, but the denial itself was a certain kind of defiance. Harry had said as much at his trail. 

There had been a surprising lack of animosity between the two of them this year. When they had first learned that Malfoy would be returning for his 8th year, Ron had raged and tried to convince her not to go back, he had been so sure that he would be after some kind of revenge. Hermione had asserted at the time that he would be unlikely to attack her and risk his parole status. She had expected that they would simply ignore each other, but he had been perfectly civil to her so far. 

Over the last few months, they had shared classes and on the occasions that they were required to work with each other in a pair or in groups Malfoy had been courteous and diligent in his work. But in love with her? Surely Theo was overstretching with that one.  
Not paying attention to the path that Theo was cutting through the snow, Hermione was surprised to find herself pulled to a stop at the quidditch pitch.

“I know I said I wanted to go for a fly last night Theo, but that was definitely the firewhiskey talking,” Hermione quipped, looking back up from her feet to the dark haired boy next to her.

“Luckily for you I’m not much of a fan of flying either. I thought we could have a little sit down and take in the views, I convinced the elves to let me smuggle us out some hot chocolate and biscuits, come sit down and I’ll share.” 

Theo dragged her over to one of the closer stands and up onto a bench, peeling off his dark gloves and pulling a thermos of hot chocolate from somewhere in the recesses of his cloak. 

Sitting down next to him, Hermione accepted a mug from him and looked out at the snow capped mountains visible in the distance beyond the castle grounds. 

“Hmm, the scenery is beautiful, Granger, but that’s actually not the view I had in mind.” Theo smiled, taking Hermione’s chin between his fingers and rotating her head to face out over the pitch. A figure was visible in the distance, flying high over the far goal hoops. She hadn’t noticed them at first, but watched now as the sun glinted off of suspiciously familiar platinum hair. She was about to turn back to Nott and demand they leave when the broom suddenly dropped from the sky, heading on a vertical path straight down to the snow blanketed ground below at a high enough speed to break every bone in the flier’s body. 

“No!” Hermione jumped from her seat on the bench, mug smashing to the floor and hot chocolate spraying up to cover them both as she shoved her hands into her robes, fingers clutching around her wand. Drawing the wand from her pocket with reflexes born of a war, it was pointed in Draco’s direction and a spell was forming on her lips before he suddenly pulled up just inches from death, spiralling back upwards in lazy circles. 

Hermione’s heart was hammering in her chest as she lowered her wand. The sound of her yell must have carried across to Malfoy as his broom levelled out and he turned in their direction.

“Merlin, Granger” Theo groused, “I brought you out here to check out Draco’s arse a bit more, not to drown us both in cocoa! Have you never seen a Vronsky Feint before?”

Hermione felt heat rise to her cheeks as she hurriedly started picking up bits of broken mug from the ground around them.

“Sorry Theo, I don’t know what happened, I’ve seen Harry practice that move a hundred times. I just thought….”

“You do realise you are holding a wand right now, Witch? Put down the porcelain before you hurt someone.” Theo started vanishing the ruins of the mug, siphoning warm liquid from both of their robes as Hermione stood cringing. 

“Granger, Nott” a voice drawled behind her, causing her to jump and yelp again. “Everything okay over here? It sounded like a banshee had attacked you from over there.”

“Oh, fine,” Theo waved. “Granger just had a minor heart attack over here thinking you were committing suicide by broomstick.”

“I did not!” Hermione defended. 

“Nice to know you were worried about me, Granger, but rest assured I’m a pretty decent flier.” Malfoy had brought his broom to hover beside them and gracefully dismounted a foot away. “What in Merlin’s name is all over your robes, Theo?”

“Until a couple of minutes ago, that was some quite delicious elf made hot chocolate. Now though I think its starting to stain my robes, maybe I should head back to the castle and change.” Theo vaulted over the benches and set off back across the grounds, leaving Hermione and Draco alone for the second time that day. 

“Theo! Wait!” Hermione yelled after him, hurriedly casting a turgeo over her own soaked robes. By the time she stood again however, Theo had vanished and Malfoy was stood leaning on his broomstick, a crooked smirk on his lips. 

“He’s long gone, Granger. They boy is a genius when it comes to disillusionment spells, good luck catching up with him.” 

Hermione turned to face Malfoy. He was still smirking at her but it looked a little tight around the edges, as if it was costing him something to keep it in place. 

“Sorry, Malfoy.” Hermione sighed. “I really didn’t know he was dragging me out here just to try and get us to talk again or I would have stayed inside.”

“You don’t get to apologise to me, Granger.” He replied in an almost whisper, and the air suddenly felt thick around them. 

Clearing his throat, Malfoy brought his broom around to hover beside them once more. “I can take you back to the castle if you like, trudging around in the snow in wet robes isn’t going to do you any good.”

They both knew that she could cast a drying spell over her robes, but biting back her urge to reject him she nodded her head slowly. “Thanks, that would, erm… yeah, that would be good.”

He looked briefly surprised at her agreement, clearly he had assumed that she would flat out reject the offer. She wasn’t really sure why she hadn’t, other than the fact that all of Theo’s talking about him had made her curious. 

Mounting his broom with enviable ease he gestured for her to mount infront of him. “It will be easier if you climb up here, that way I can hold you in place. From what I remember you are not the most confident of fliers.”

Swallowing, Hermione did as he suggested and clambered up in front of him. She almost toppled right off the other side of the broomstick as she tried to adjust her seating and his hand darted out to steady her, his fingers tight on her hip in a way that reminded her instantly of how he had touched her that morning. Righting herself she took a steadying breath as he pulled her back against his chest, arms coming around her to grasp the handle in front of her. 

Despite her best efforts, Hermione felt herself tense as Malfoy lightly pushed off and tilted the handle of his broom upwards.

Malfoy’s breath against her ear sent a shiver down her spine as he leaned in close to reassure her. “Relax, Granger. I won’t let you fall.” For some unfathomable reason she believed him. 

Malfoy kept their speed low and steady as he angled them away from the quidditch stands and out across the grounds, but still Hermione kept her eyes squeezed tight shut more often than not. A strong gust of wind blew flakes of snow into her face and she drew back from the shock of the cold, inadvertently pressing herself in closer to Malfoy. She felt more than heard his chuckle, his front pressed so close to her back that she could feel each rise and fall of his chest. Normally she would have been embarrassed, but she was too scared to feel anything but grateful as he wrapped an arm tight around her waist, belting her close to his body. 

“If it really scares you that much we can always walk,” he murmured against her curls. 

“No,” Hermione half whispered back. “Just distract me, keep talking to me and I won’t have chance to overthink it.”

“Well, if it’s distracting that you want then I’m sure I can make accommodations,” Malfoy purred, the fingers of the hand wrapped around her waist tightening to dig into her side through her thick outer robe as he traced patterns across her ribs. 

Glad that he couldn’t see her face, Hermione lifted one hand from the broom to bat at his wandering fingers, instantly regretting it as the shift in her balance made her lean precariously in the opposite direction.

She felt Malfoy laugh behind her again as he stopped the motion of his fingers and grasped her free hand, drawing it back down to rest on his broom and covering it with his own.

“Honestly, Granger, you have got to be the most uptight witch I have ever known. Clearly Weasley didn’t know how to get a woman to relax.” He laced the fingers of the hand that still clasped hers atop the broom through her own. “I’m only messing with you. Just close your eyes, we will be back at the castle before you know it.”  
Fighting to slow her racing heart, Hermione gave a small nod and closed her eyes, trusting in Malfoy’s flying skills. 

“You know, when you asked to have a go on my broomstick last night, I pictured something like this,” Draco mused from behind her, following her request for him to keep talking as they flew. “I knew you were scared of flying, and the image of you wrapped in my arms like this is something I’ve pictured quite a bit. You always looked so cute in those lessons with Hooch, your cheeks pink and those wild curls whipping around your face as you fought your own fears just to hover a few feet above the grass. I could never decide if your fear of flying made you a bad choice for Gryffindor, or if your stubbornness in mounting that damn broom every week anyway was the perfect example of why you belonged there.”

“I didn’t know you were watching so closely, Malfoy.” Hermione muttered, the wind catching her words so that she wasn’t even sure he would hear her until she felt him huff in response. 

“Thank Circe for that, if you’d caught the amount of times I stared at you in class Potter would have followed me round even more than usual. And yes, Granger, I know all about Potty and his stalker tendencies. I’m surprised that he and the Weasel didn’t follow you back here just to make sure that the big bad death eater didn’t try to finish you off without them there to protect you. Or maybe they finally realised that you’ve always been the scariest one of the three of you. And don’t think I’ve forgotten what you said last night about keeping Skeeter in a jar. That’s a story that definitely needs to be shared.” He laughed again. 

Malfoy kept up a steady stream of dialogue as they continued their flight across the grounds. It was probably the most that Hermione had ever heard him speak, and she relaxed into him further as the deep rumble of his voice and the feel of his hand around hers distracted her from their mode of travel. 

It came as a slight surprise when Malfoy nudged his head against hers to regain her attention, and she opened her eyes to find that they had arrived back at the entrance to the castle.

“You can get down now, Granger.”

Hermione peeled her numb fingers away from his and stumbled as she brought one leg over the broomstick to hop down to the ground. Shivering, she peeled her now wet gloves from her hands and cringed at the stiffness the numb digits. 

Malfoy swung his own much longer legs over the broomstick and moved towards her. 

“Here,” he said, almost sheepishly. He reached out and took both of her hands in his, rubbing his palms over her hands and bringing them up to his mouth to breath hot air over them. The gesture was so oddly intimate when he could have cast a warming charm over them just as easily, but as his lips brushed against her skin on his next breath she looked up to find his eyes already on her face. 

“Erm, thanks, Malfoy.” Hermione breathed. 

They stood frozen that way for several seconds longer, both hesitant to let go of the others hands, but not quite knowing what move to make next. 

“Good to see you two getting along again!” Quipped the jovial voice of Theodore Nott as he danced down the steps from the entrance hall towards them.

“Bugger off, Theo.” Draco growled, as Hermione hastily withdrew hers hands from between Malfoys. 

“Well now, that’s just rude.” The other boy half sang back. “You would think you would be a little more grateful for the present I have just given you both.”

“Unless the present is the gift of your silent departure, Nott, I think I’ll get whatever it is from you later.”

“Oh poor naive Draco, look up and thank me later.” With a cheery wave and a wink at Hermione, Theo turned on his heel and walked towards the Great Hall. “I’ll see you both inside for Christmas dinner when you can come in.”

“What is he talking about?” Hermione asked, puzzled. 

Malfoy had tilted his chin up with a groan and was muttering under his breath about meddling so called friends so Hermione followed his gaze.

“Mistletoe?” She asked with a laugh. “Very original.” Rolling her eyes she made to walk away from Malfoy and into the castle but found that her feet remained firmly where they were planted on the stone steps.

“Enchanted Mistletoe, Granger.” Malfoy drawled, eyes still fixed on the floating foliage. 

“Enchanted?... What the hell does enchanted Mistletoe even do?”

“You’re smart, Granger. I’m sure you can figure it out.”

“Oh, that sneaky little snake!” She growled. “Wait until I get my hands on him, this is completely out of line!”

“You’ll have to join the queue, I’m afraid there might not be much left of the last remaining Nott by the time I’m done with him.”

Hermione narrowed her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest and staring now at Malfoy. He finally lowered his gaze from the offending object and flinched at the look of fierce determination directed his way. 

Leaning in hurriedly towards the blonde before her nerves could fail her, Hermione planted a quick but firm kiss on his cheek. Turning to leave, she almost fell on her face when her feet remained fixed where they were. 

“Nice try Granger, but it would appear Nott was going for maximum embarrassment with this one. Doesn’t look like a peck on the cheek is getting us out of here.”

“Well at least I tried something! We are going to freeze if we stand about here much longer, and I don’t…”

For the second time that day, Hermione was cut off mid rant by Malfoys soft lips crashing down on her own. He grasped her by the shoulders and pulled her chest to his as his cold lips pressed against her own. After a moment’s frozen shock, Hermione responded to the kiss with a heat that surprised even herself.

Snaking her arms around his neck, she pulled his head down closer to hers and gently nibbled on his lower lip. Malfoy groaned against her mouth and lowered his hands to wrap around her waist. Snaking his hands down to clasp around her behind, he pulled her into his growing hardness. With a moan of her own, Hermione lifted herself onto her toes and delved her tongue between his parted lips. 

“Fuck, Granger, you taste like chocolate.” Malfoy mumbled against her lips. Lifting her higher, his hands slid down her thighs as she brought her legs up to wrap around his waist. Picking her up, he span them and stepped into an alcove, pushing her back firmly against the cold wall of the castle. 

It registered vaguely that the enchantment must have been broken on the mistletoe if they could both move, but she wasn’t about to interrupt whatever was happening between them by voicing the realisation. 

Hermione dove a hand into the silken strands of Malfoys slightly damp hair, clutching him to her as his lips once again trailed across her jaw and his hand skimmed up the length of her ribs to cup her sensitive breast through her robes. 

Hermione didn’t know what had made him stop that morning but was hoping to Merlin that he didn’t pull away this time, as he peppered her throat with open mouthed kisses. 

“Tell me to stop, Granger.” Malfoy growled against her throat. 

“Gods Malfoy, don’t stop.” She breathed in response, pulling his head up to crash her lips against his again. 

His hands squeezed her arse and he rolled his hips into her, eliciting another breathy moan from her and she bit down on his bottom lip hard. 

“Fuck, Granger” Malfoy groaned. “You have no idea how long I have wanted to do this.”

Through the haze of her lust, Hermione’s logic seemed to kick back in and she drew her lips reluctantly from his.

“Then why did you stop?” She asked. “This morning, in your dorm room. Why did you stop?”

Her question seemed to cool his ardour more than the snow dusting down on them could have and his hands fell from her legs as he moved to step away from her. Unwilling to let him run away like he had that morning, Hermione tightened her hold around his neck and refused to lower her legs from around his waist. 

“Don’t you dare walk away from me again today, Draco Malfoy.” She hissed. 

Lowering his forehead to rest against hers, Malfoy released a steady breath and brought one of his arms back up to support her weight. 

“Because, as much as I’d love to get one over on the weasel, I will not sleep with you just to piss off another man. If we ever sleep together it will be because by some miracle you want me as much as I want you. Because even though I know that I will never deserve you because of my past, I can see the future that we could have and I will not be happy with just a taste of that for all the wrong reasons.”

Hermione was silent, trying to process what he had just said, and this time when he made to move, she slid her legs from around him and let him walk away.

***********

Sinking into a seat next to Theo at the one lone table that currently occupied the Great Hall, Draco allowed himself to suffer through the indignity of pulling Christmas crackers with the smattering of staff and students that had remained at Hogwarts for the holiday season. When professor sprout offered him a deep purple crown from their exploded tube, he placed it upon his head with a strained smile and averted his gaze as Granger entered the Hall to take the remaining seat opposite him.  
“So, I take it that my most recent attempt at meddling in your love life went about as well as the others?” Theo asked under his breath once Granger was engaged in conversation with the pompous looking Ravenclaw boy that occupied the seat to her right. 

“If you intended to have me spill my guts to Granger and be faced with her disgust then yes, Nott. It went about as well as expected.” Draco muttered back, cutting into his turkey with a little more force than was necessary.

“Are you sure you’re not misreading the situation, Draco?” Theo asked. “From what I could see the two of you looked pretty cosy in the entrance before I interrupted. It definitely didn’t look like Hermione was staring into your eyes and holding your hands with disgust.”

“I’m fairly sure that total silence and avoiding eye contact can only be interpreted one way, Nott. She doesn’t see me like that, and frankly who can blame her. Just leave her be and stop trying to orchestrate these little ‘moments’ between us.”

Draco kept his eyes on his plate but could see Nott’s gaze flickering to him in his periphery. 

“Sorry about leaving you earlier on the Quidditch pitch, Granger.” Nott piped up, drawing the Gryffindors attention to their side of the table. “As you can see, your little hot chocolate throwing necessitated a full outfit change. I’m willing to forgive you though if you give my Christmas cracker a little tug.”

Hermione snorted and Draco looked up to see Theo suggestively wiggling his eyebrows as he held out his cracker in her direction. 

“Merlin, how do you manage to make everything sound like an innuendo Theo?” Hermione asked, grasping the offered end of the cracker. 

“It’s my special talent,” he shot back, jerking his wrist and exploding the cracker with a loud bang over the serving platters. 

A miniature halo flew from between them and landed in the middle of Draco’s plate. With a grimace he withdrew the glowing object and cast a quick turgeo on it to remove the gravy and potato. Handing it wordlessly across the table he looked up briefly to see Hermione staring at him with an unreadable expression as she reached out for it. 

“Thanks, Draco.” She smiled, placing the halo atop her head where it hovered over her curls, emitting a soft golden glow. The use of his given name caused something in his chest to stutter, and he nodded briskly before turning back to his food.

Granger chatted amicably for a bit longer with Theo, who made valiant efforts to involve a reluctant Draco in their conversations. After several awkward silences, Nott took the hint and left Draco to stew in his own misery for the remainder of the meal. 

As soon as the remainders of the dessert course were vanished, Draco stood from his seat, muttered a vague Merry Christmas at the table in general and exited the hall at a determinedly sedate pace. 

He heard Nott calling after him but a brief glance in his direction showed him mid conversation with a concerned looking Granger, so he kept up his pace.

Draco had almost made it back to the common room when a panting Theodore Nott caught up to him, grabbing him by the shoulder and motioning wordlessly for him to stop as he gasped for breath. 

“Morgana’s tits, you walk fast.” Theo whined, clutching at a stitch in his side. “What’s the rush? You bolted out of the great hall like the Dark Lord had reappeared.”

“Some of us are just fitter than others, Nott. Maybe try putting down the whiskey and getting on a broomstick yourself for a change.” Draco drawled, congratulating himself on preventing a flinch at the mention of the Dark Lord. “You knew where I would be heading anyway, so it’s not like you had to scurry after me. Are you really that desperate to spend time with me? Because I’ve told you before, you’re a good-looking man but I’m not interested in being the beater to another man’s bludger.”

“I know, and it’s really a shame given that you have such a way with words.” Theo quipped back in a sarcastic drawl. “I just thought that you would appreciate a heads-up that I’ve invited our new resident Gryffindor to pay us a visit once she’s had chance to change.”

“Theo,” Draco growled “I thought that I’d made it pretty clear that I did not want you trying to force the two of us together anymore. Frankly, it’s embarrassing. You make nice with Granger all you like, but I’ll be spending the night in our room.”

“I know what you said, mate. But I don’t think that you scared her away earlier. I think she was just shocked. I know you are being all shockingly noble and self-sacrificing these days, but if you’d actually peeled your eyes off of your potatoes and looked at the witch you could have seen for yourself the way she was eyeing you like you were a particularly interesting textbook that she couldn’t wait to get her hands on.”

Deciding that any further participation in the conversation would do nothing but give him a migraine, Draco clamped his mouth closed and stormed to his dorm room, drawing the curtains of his four-poster around himself incase Theo dared to follow him in. 

*******

Draco flipped through the pages of his Advanced Arithmancy text book as he reclined in bed, one hand behind his head as he considered the virtues of the Chaldean place-values system when applied to tetrahedral numbers. 

Hearing the sound of the door to the room opening and gently swinging shut again, Draco placed one long finger between the pages of his text, lowering the book and preparing himself for another pointless battle of wills with Nott. 

The curtains around his bed were drawn apart and Draco froze, he had been about to tell Nott to kindly fuck off and leave him be, but the figure staring down at him from within the half dark chamber was decidedly not Theo. 

“Granger?” he asked, unable to offer a more witty greeting in his confusion. 

“Malfoy.” She nodded, sitting on the edge of his bed and casting a glance at his choice of reading material. “Surely you have better things to be doing on Christmas day than hiding in bed, reading Arithmancy texts.”

“Would Ancient Runes be more appropriate?” he quipped, wondering at the reason for her appearance but unwilling to ask.

“I know it’s probably rich coming from me, but put down the book, Malfoy. I know you’re already ahead in Arithmancy, and your runes work hardly needs much improvement either.”

“Did Hermione Granger just pay me a compliment or is this some Polyjuiced aberration? Quick, why did you punch me in the face in 3rd year?” He jested, lowering the book to rest atop his duvet and sitting up straighter.

“Because you were being an arse, although really anyone could have guessed that so you need to work on your questioning for next time.” She smiled at him and his heart stalled. 

“Next time?” he asked. “Do you plan on making sneaking into my bed unannounced a habit, Granger?”

“If you would stop running away from me I might.” She replied with a hint of his own smirk. 

Draco opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. Was Granger openly flirting with him? After her response to his earlier bout of truth telling he was really starting to think that he might need to test her for Polyjuice or some other more nefarious magic. 

Granger seemed to take his silence as a queue to continue and kicked off her rather hideous muggle trainers as she clambered further onto his bed. 

“Scoot over, if you’re not going to kick me out you could at least make room for me.”

“Why the hell would I kick you out?” he asked, hurriedly making room for her next to him against the headboard. “I’m just a little shocked to see you here sober.”

“I think Theo intended to get me drunk again, honestly, though I’m not sure if that was for his benefit or ours. He seems to have appointed himself match maker. He had some rather interesting things to say to me today, about you and about why I should learn to go with what feels right rather than overthinking every possible outcome.” 

“And crawling into bed with me is what feels right to you?” he asked, a definite huskiness to his voice that hadn’t been there a moment earlier. 

“Well, right now it feels pretty awkward, but I get the feeling that if you would shut up for a minute and pick up where we left off earlier it would feel pretty damn right, yes.” She looked up at him with a challenge in her eyes and it took every ounce of restraint he had not to grab her and pin her to his bed right then. 

“I told you earlier, Granger, I’m not interested in a quick fuck just so you can get back at your pathetic ex-boyfriend.”

“Neither am I. Despite what I may have said when I was drunk last night, I’m not the kind of person that would use someone just to make another man jealous.” She replied. “Despite what you apparently assumed from my silence earlier, you are not the only one that thinks there could actually be a future here. I was just too caught up in our history to see it, but if I’m going to live in the moment and do what feels good, then your hands on me and your lips on mine is a damn good place to start.”

Dragging her roughly atop him and pulling her lips down to meet hers, Draco decided that Theodore Nott deserved his weight in gallons for bringing this feisty witch into their common room. 

Hermione’s hands snaked up his chest and began to pull at the buttons of his casual shirt as she kissed him back with a fire unmatched by anything he had previously felt. Growling in frustration she sat up to straddle him and pulled her wand from the back pocket of her jeans, vanishing the offending item before leaning back down to press her lips back to his. 

“Fuck, Granger, that might just be the sexiest use of a vanishing charm I’ve ever seen.” He groaned into her neck and she ran her hands down his now bare torso. 

Sitting them both upright he reached his own hands to the hem of her t-shirt and pulled it over her head, tossing it from his bed and moving his mouth down to where the cup of her bra met the delicate swell of her right breast. 

“Gods, Malfoy” she moaned as his hand came up to tweak at her hardened nipple through the left bra cup and she ground her pelvis down into his lap. “Still too much clothing.”

She vanished the remainder of both of their clothing with another wordless spell and he groaned as he felt the slick wetness of her slide against his hard cock. 

Kissing her with renewed fervour, Draco rolled them so that Hermione was below him, her wild curls splayed out across his pillow as she smiled up at him. Peppering kisses down the column of her throat, Draco brought his hand back to her now bare breast, cupping one as his mouth trailed a lazy path to the other. As he took her nipple into his mouth he heard her gasp below him and her hips bucked up against him. Laving at the stiff peak with his tongue, he squeezed the other with his fingers, eliciting the most delectable sounds from her. Continuing his exploration of her body, he kissed down the smooth skin of her stomach, fingers tracing gently over the scars that showed that the soft with beneath him was forged in fire. Bringing his head down to meet her damp curls, he looked to her for permission. At Hermione’s glazed stare and nod, Draco brought one of her legs to rest atop his shoulder as he slid one long finger between her folds. 

“Salazar, Granger, you are so wet for me.” He moaned, stroking his fingers up and down her slick heat. 

“All for you, Malfoy.” She purred, one of her hands clutching the bed sheets whilst the other came up to massage her own breast. 

The sight of her so wanton for him made his cock twitch and he delved a finger into her core as he brought his mouth down to lick languidly at her perfect clit. Her hips bucked beneath him again and he added another finger, building up a rhythm with his hand as he continued to lick and tease her clit with his mouth. The musky taste of her as she moaned beneath him would be enough for him to summon his first Patronus if he cared to try. He continued to swirl his tongue over her, removing his fingers from inside her to delve his tongue into her before returning to her sensitive clit. As he brushed against her front wall with two crooked fingers Hermione let out a yelp and sank a hand into his hair, holding him against her as she ground up into his mouth. 

“Agh, Malfoy, yes…. Please… yes.”

He increased his rhythm, feeling pre cum leaking from the head of his cock as she fucked his face with abandon. Looking up, he locked eyes with her and in that moment she fell apart beneath him. He had never seen anything more beautiful in his life than the sight of Hermione Granger climaxing for him. Licking at her slowly, he let her ride out her orgasm before crawling his way back up her body to kiss her mouth once more. 

Panting beneath him, she smiled against his mouth and reached between them to take his hard cock in her delicate hand.

“Let me return the favour,” she breathed, pushing his shoulder to roll him onto his back. She straddled him, kissing him again before sitting to drag herself down his body. Reaching out to grasp her wrist, Draco stopped her. A look of confusion flashed over her face as she paused. 

“Granger, if you put that wicked little mouth of yours around me right now, I’ll be coming down your throat in seconds. As high up on my to do list as that is, I need to be inside of you right now.” She smiled at him and scooted back up his body, hands splayed on his torso. “Can I fuck you, Granger? If it’s too fast just say, but I’m dying to bury myself inside that perfect cunt.”

“How about you stay right there, and I’ll fuck you?” Hermione asked, lifting herself to hover above his erect cock. At his enthusiastic nod, she lined him up with her entrance and sank down on him slowly. The feel of filling her this way hand him grasping at her hips, pulling her down to him until he bottomed out inside of her and they both released moans of satisfaction. As she began to move, slowly at first but building to a fast rhythm, the sight of her alone was enough to bring him close to the edge. 

Lifting his hands from the sheets, he brought one up to wrap around her back, pulling her closer to him, as the other dove between them to circle her sensitive clit. Her movements became erratic as she brought herself to the verge of a second orgasm, fucking him whilst he played with her.

“I’m so close, Draco… I’m…” As she released a loud groan, he pulled her lips down to crash against his, swallowing the sounds of her orgasm as he drove into her, reaching his own climax just moments later with the sound of her name falling from his lips.

Wrapped up in his sheets as they both came down from their highs, Draco pulled her to rest on his chest as he kissed her wild curls. 

“Happy Christmas, Draco.” She smiled.

“Happy Christmas, Hermione.” He ginned back like a love sick fool. 

“I think we owe Theo a gift basket.” She laughed. 

“Fuck the gift basket, I’ll buy the pratt the entire contents of Honeydukes.”


End file.
